After school fun

Cranbury students offered program

By: Lacey Korevec
   With markers, tape and construction paper in hand, a group of Cranbury School students huddled around a favorite new toy Monday shortly after school had let out.
   "We’re turning it into a house of money," fourth-grader Kyle Currier said.
   The toy, a large, brown cardboard box, had the students working creatively, keeping busy and laughing the whole way.
   Monroe resident Janet McGovern, the lead teacher of Cranbury’s Before and After School Care program, said the activity is just the kind of thing the students love to spend time on while waiting for their parents to pick them up and take them home.
   BASC is an independent business that runs in a number of schools in Middlesex County. In Cranbury, it runs Monday through Friday in the Cranbury School auditorium from 7 to 8:30 a.m. and from 3 to 6 p.m., with extended care options until 6:30. Costs for the program vary depending on which session a child goes to, how many days a week the child attends and the amount of hours spent there.
   "They’ll fight over who gets to take it home," Ms. McGovern laughed, while pointing to the box the boys were decorating. "The mothers will be like, ‘No, I don’t want it.’ "
   But aside from the box, which Ms McGovern said was brought in because it was holding other materials, the students are provided with all kinds of toys, including Legos, board games and arts and crafts materials.
   "The boys are big on the Legos," Ms. McGovern said.
   But not all students spend the few hours between school and home playing.
   Second-graders Kelly Qiu, Amy Lin and Alex Chen use the time to get a head start on their homework before going home, though students have the option of whether or not to do their homework while at the program.
   "We usually do snack then our homework," Amy said, with her books and papers spread out across the table.
   The students said they try to get their work done right away and then they play afterward if they still have time before their parents pick them up.
   "We work together if we’re on the same thing," Amy said. "Sometimes one of us might be doing one thing and the other needs to do different homework."
   Students in the program are allowed to bring their own toys in to play with, Amy said.
   Alex said that sometimes he really likes going to the after-school program, but other days he wishes he could do other things.
   "I just feel like doing some Tai Kwon Do," he said.
   But his favorite aspect of going to BASC is spending time with his friends, he said.
   Ms. McGovern said the students are always given a snack when they first arrive and then they move on to other activities of their choice. Some days, the group goes into the gym to play games such as kickball and basketball. And on nice days, Ms. McGovern, who has been running the program in Cranbury for four years, said she likes to take the kids outside.
   "They’re a bunch of good kids that come here," she said, adding that many of them have a lot of fun and wish they could stay longer. "At the end of the day, they don’t want to go."
   Though different students go to BASC on different days, Ms. McGovern said there are usually about 38 students who attend.
   "I like working with the kids," she said, adding that many of them remain in the program for a number of years. "For example, I’ve worked with Kyle since he was in kindergarten. It’s nice to see how they change over the years."
   On each weekday, Ms. McGovern provides a different activity the kids can participate in. For example, on Monday, the students could work with beads to make jewelry and other creations. And every Friday is a movie day.
   Second-grader Timmy Yesalavage, who came up with the idea to turn the cardboard box into a house, said he looks forward to the program during the day and has a good time there playing with his friends.
   "We draw," he said. "We play games. We have a lot of fun."
   At another table in the auditorium, three students were playing the board game "Sorry," while another was sitting nearby playing "Bop-It."
   "You can see a lot of your friends here," Kyle said.